Jason welcomes Patrick Donohoe of The Wealth Standard Podcast to discuss the dirty details of pensions, insurance policies and Ponzi schemes. Jason describes the difficulties and common mistakes average retail investors make when investing in financial services. And, Pat gives a comprehensive overview of how to make the most of your existing policies in order to invest your money in the most historically-proven asset class, income property.

Key Takeaways:

[1:15] Is the US a giant Ponzi scheme?

[4:21] Understanding the difference between pension benefit plans and contribution plans is essential.

[14:05] The financial service industry preys on retail investors.

[19:39] Harry Markopolos is waiting to capitalize on a market correction.

[25:59] Analyzing the patterns and mistakes of the middle-class investor.

[34:17] The Wealth Standard Podcast focuses on helping individuals understand the comprehensive nature of the economy.

[36:39] Pat explains how policyholders can reduce their risk and get investment money for cash-flow properties.

Jason Hartman and Richard Duncan continue discussing what Richard thinks will happen if the government stops supporting the global bubble, how the government can get back in the black on the spreadsheets, and why today is unique in terms of economic history.

Richard Duncan is Chief Economist at Black Horse Asset Management, the author of The New Depression: The Breakdown of the Paper Money Economy and The Dollar Crisis: Causes, Consequences, Cures. His Macro Watch video series can help individuals to clearly understand how the financial system really works. Mr. Duncan previously held the position of economist for the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Key Takeaways:

[1:00] The rules completely changed when we ditched the gold standard and went to a paper money economy

[10:35] The winners in our new, global economy

[13:16] How governmental policy is driving the global bubble

[16:15] Never in human history have we seen what happens when the economy becomes global and money is printed in this abundance

Jason Hartman welcomes Richard Duncan for the first of a two-part conversation about what is driving the economy, and which mistakes could catapult the US into a recession.

Richard Duncan is Chief Economist at Black Horse Asset Management, the author of The New Depression: The Breakdown of the Paper Money Economy and The Dollar Crisis: Causes, Consequences, Cures. His Macro Watch video series can help individuals to clearly understand how the financial system really works. Mr. Duncan previously held the position of economist for the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Key Takeaways:

[1:01] Richard Duncan has a unique, insider’s view of world economics and FIAT money.

[6:06] In the US, when credit grows less than 2% the US goes into recession.

[11:17] Creditism is the new Capitalism.

[13:37] Looking back at the policies which saved the world economy in 2008.

[19:35] It’s a very sensitive moment in the economy as the Fed is considering reversing quantitative easing.

[23:27] Globalization has changed the way the economic game is played.

Jason talks with the co-founder of Reaganomics, Paul Craig Roberts. Together, they discuss some of the international threats that could face America, thanks to the recent actions from Washington. Specifically, they deal with issues of demography, currency and military developments in Russia and China and consider the potential impact of each of these on the United States.

Key Takeaways:

[1:55] The ruble should be strong in comparison to the dollar, and yet the ruble is risking collapse.

[5:49] The reserve currency status no longer seems as stable when we look at potential drops in use of the dollar.

[13:04] Paul Craig Roberts describes the US’s current position with regards to Russia and China.

[23:03] We’ve got a whole generation of people who now can’t afford to live on their own terms.

[25:56] The discussion moves to inflation and how it could transform the US economy.

Ever wonder why some people are liberals and others are conservative? Is there something different in their brain chemistry or is it just the way they were raised?

Dr. Rossiter is board certified in both general and forensic psychiatry. For more than forty years he has diagnosed and treated mental disorders, with a special interest in personality pathology and its developmental origins. He's also author of the book The Liberal Mind: The Psychological Causes of Political Madness, and talks about the belief that government can solve our problems and politicians have our best interests at heart.

Key Takeaways:

[2:18] The differences in mindset between liberals and conservatives

[5:38] Big government countries oppress religion because government needs to be the highest power

[9:56] Communist and socialist regimes have killed nearly 200 million people in the past century

[13:36] The people who describe themselves as caring are callous when they get power

[18:40] Politicians don't seem to have a grasp on obvious economic truths

[21:15] Adolescents need something to commit to and idealize things and people

In the early 1980s, Seth Merrin was an intern on Wall Street who saw ways the industry could change for the better. His first startup was an order management software that asset managers around the world use. He later created the company Liquidnet Holdings that allows institutional investors to trade large blocks of stock.

Jason Hartman caught up with Seth to talk about his newest book, The Power of Positive Destruction, and how business owners can take ideas from other industries and disrupt theirs.

Key Takeaways:

[0:46] The premise for the Power of Positive Destruction

[2:53] Taking things from one successful industry, and applying them to your different industry, can provide huge boons

[5:35] The positive destruction created by companies like Uber, Lyft, AirBnB, etc

[8:59] The art and science of launching a company

[12:24] How Seth applied the principles from his book on his own companies

[16:05] Whether Wall Street is swinging back toward being an institutional game, and how Seth's platform plays in that

[21:03] The idea of corporate responsibility, and how the proceeds from the book sales are going to help house the orphans of the genocide in Rwanda

Jason and guest, Bob Filner, debate the Trump Administration, how the remiss government regulators are towards financial institutions, and the need for a complete reinvention of the Democratic party. As the former House Committee Chairman on Veteran’s Affairs, Bob Filner tackled Jamie Dimon and JPMorgan by threatening to press charges for their unethical treatment of military personnel by foreclosing on their mortgage loans. Mr. Filner was also the Mayor of San Diego and this interview comes on the heels of the release of his new book, Trumping Trump: Making Democrats Progressive Again.

Key Takeaways:

[:58] Bob Filner shares the purpose behind his book, Trumping Trump.

[3:26] Will the Tobin tax discourage trading and betting on non-asset based investments?

[5:20] Bob would like to rebrand the democratic party as the party of the working people.

[7:18] Bob threatened Jamie Dimon and JPMorgan for foreclosing on military personnel’s home while they were serving in active duty.

[13:20] It is pathetic how easily you can buy justice.

[14:12] Does the financial system need less or more regulation?

[24:21] The problem with the Trump administration as Bob Filner sees it.

[29:27] Trump’s policies could have a devastating affect on the US economy.

[31:23] What benefits the American worker more jobs and higher pay or low cost imported goods?

In 2016 Jason was joined by Harry Dent, from Dent Research, to discuss the tax benefits you can get from moving to a US territory like Puerto Rico, some cyclical markets that are out of control, demographic problems around the world, inflation, and foreign investors in US real estate.

Key Takeaways:

[1:05] Harry's new home in Puerto Rico, and the tax benefits he can receive

[5:03] Vancouver real estate is out of control

[10:16] Japan's biggest problem is a demographic problem

[14:06] Previously Harry had predicted a drop in gold which hasn't happened, does he still believe it's going to go down or was he wrong?

[18:46] In a deflationary environment the only chance you have to make money is in yield, which can be found in linear markets with cash flowing properties

[24:07] Most foreign real estate investors are legally laundering their money out of their country

Jason Hartman talks to Yahoo Finance’s Jeff Macke about the impact of changing technologies, the perception of Doomsday skepticism and what underemployment means for those seeking jobs and those hiring. Macke also ways in on the inflation/deflation debate and discusses some of the points raised in his book Clash of the Financial Pundits.

Key Takeaways:

[1:39] Discrepancies between what we're told by the press and economic realities

[5:00] New technology and human resources can combine to end extreme inefficiency.

[8:10] Underemployment is a tricky issue when we have so many graduates with massive student debt who still can’t get a job.

[12:36] How many jobs will this new technology end up replacing?

[16:44] Investing with a belief in a Doomsday end is not a good idea

[18:04] Are we headed toward inflation or deflation?

[22:03] – There are two real ways of making money as a pundit: make other people money or just scare them.

[23:20] The gold-bugs focus so much on the math, but it’s just not all about math. We now have so many other factors that come into play, and we can’t forget about them.